Sumatran Rhino

The Sumatran rhino is the world’s rarest large mammal, and is the last surviving species in the same group as the extinct wooly rhinoceros of the ice age. It is probably the most endangered of all rhinoceros species. In the early 1900s, it ranged over most of Southeast Asia from the Himalayas in Bhutan, eastern India through Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. Numbers have declined over 50% in the last 15 years due to poaching. Today only about 300 survive.

Poaching of Sumatran rhino horns and destruction of its rainforest habitat has critically endangered the rhinos. Poaching is particularly insidious because dealers who stock these horns know that once the species becomes extinct, horn prices will increase exponentially. Most remaining habitat is in inaccessible mountainous areas of Indonesia, where the government has shown no inclination to discourage clearing of rhino habitat for the benefit of the timber industry.

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Common Name: Sumatran Rhino, Hairy Rhino, Asian Two-Horned Rhino

Scientific Name: Dicerohinus sumatrensis

Status: Critically endangered

Population: About 300

Lifespan: 30-45 years in the wild

Range: Sumatra, peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. Scattered remnants are reported in remote and inaccessible parts of Thailand and Myanmar.

Threats: Poaching for the horn (for use in traditional Chinese medicine) and habitat loss.

Save Them!
Make sure any hardwood furniture or floors you buy is certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council.
Buy palm oil products sourced from suitable plantations.

Support Them!
Asian Rhino Foundation
International Rhino Foundation
Save The Rhino International